The Invite
by Loise
Summary: Misunderstandings lead to strife and frustration. Haruhi knows this well.


The Invite

* * *

The girls smile warmly at Haruhi, which isn't unusually itself after all Haruhi is a new star favourite of the Ouran Host Club, but the glint in their eyes makes her falter in her step. 

"You're here!" Says a sweet faced girl with one long sleek braid. She blushes prettily as Haruhi smiles at her and sits down.

"Hello Megumi, how is your mother?" Haruhi murmurs calmly.

"Oh! Feeling much better, she's already thinking of a spa in the south of France to rejuvenate. She said I could take a friend."

"That's nice. Are you think of taking Minako?" She gestures to the other girl with her long smooth hair is a pink clasp.

Both girls start and look at each other guiltily. "Um... not exactly."

"Oh?" Haruhi blinked.

"Mum said I could take a friend, and she expects a girl, and you're a boy," Megumi smiles at Haruhi, and Haruhi uneasily nods. "So I thought you could come, but as a girl!" For a moment Megumi looks excited and happy before her face falls and she stares at Haruhi, crushed and dismal.

"Ah..." She frowns, "Um..." How to pretend to be a girl, pretending to be a boy, but who is really a girl?

"It's not - you'll get your own room! I've already got one perfect for you, in dark green and pine paneling, at our chateau! And - and! I'll pay premium rates, it'll only be for a couple days!"

So this is what it was like having fangirls, Haruhi mused, staring at the girls with growing horror. She briefly wondered how Tamaki handled the stress, but settled on him being Tamaki, explaining it away. The girls looked at her hopefully, it was vaguely disconcerting. Haruhi was generally cynical of Host Club happenings, but this was stressing her tolerance level. She hadn't expected - to be asked, by herself.

She wondered if she could call for help without incurring penalty rates from Kyouya, adding to her already large and dismally slowly decreasing debt. Haruhi edged away from Megumi and Minako slowly.

"And I'm going to! I asked, Megumi's mother if I could come too, and she didn't mind, she hardly ever minds anyway, right Megumi?" Minako says quickly, Megumi's eyes briefly flash with hurt before timidly nodding. "So, I'll pay too, if it's really out of your way... I know you like to study."

Haruhi blinked. "I don't like it that much," she mumbled, brushing a hand through her short hair. Really, she asserted to herself, I have to keep my grades up.

"But, you'll come, right?" Megumi says, a note of tension straining her voice.

"Thank you for your invite. I'm sure I would have fun, with you two fine ladies," it was an effort to say that without cringing, perhaps watching Tamaki did have it's purposes. "But, you see - "

"An invite? Where?" Hikaru drapes an arm across the back of her chair.

"Is someone inviting you out?" Kaoru adds, his hip brushing against Hikaru's.

"Ah ha!" They both say triumphantly to each other, nodding. As they do so, a particular light is set and the unsteady fangirls fall from their feet.

"King! King!"

"Haruhi is going on a trip with Megumi and Minako!"

They laugh together again, one hand across a hip, another around a shoulder. Two fangirls, whispering 'brotherly love' in the background, clasp their hearts and collapse to the ground, a swoon in the making.

Tamaki, stuck in mid romancing, stutters, wide violet eyes rising as he stands. "Haruhi! But but! That's not part of the rules, is it Mother? It can't be?"

Kyouya pushes up his glasses with one hand, as the other holds a book close to his nose. "No. In fact it's very profitable. I encourage Haruhi to continue with her venture." He nods.

"Yay! Haruhi's going on a trip! Have fun, Haruhi!" Hunny giggles, as he swings a pink bunny above his head. Mori, behind him, nods and grunts, picking up Hunny as he bounds ahead.

Everyone, except Tamaki and Haruhi look pleased and exciting. More to the fact, Tamaki looks devastated, his lips forming a pot as he stares desperately between Kyouya and Haruhi. The brown eyed girl in question appears to be growing with anger.

"I'm not - " She attempts to say.

"Oh! But if Haruhi goes, I'll be lonely! Don't go Haruhi, I'll bring, um, strawberry cake with cherries and chocolate pudding with frosting! Mmm... I promise!" Hunny yells, a hand clutching at Mori's.

"Yes, yes! Haruhi cannot go, because it would break poor Hunny's heart! Haruhi, you cannot leave!" Tamaki begs.

"But, I'm not even - " Haruhi starts.

"I suppose that we cannot lose Haruhi to one customer, no matter the premium rates," Kyouya says thoughtfully, "And certain, features, may become more readily apparent if _he_ were in such a secluded location". He turns to the disappointed Megumi and Minako, "Please except these free shots of Haruhi thinking alone, and Haruhi with the King as compensation." he nods, as they rather eagerly take the pictures with small smiles forming on their lips.

"It would be boring -

"If Haruhi wasn't here to play with."

The Hitachiin twins end as one. "Haruhi stays!"

"Stop!" Haruhi yells.

"Stop? Kaory murmurs, tilting his head to one side.

"Why would we do that?" Adds his brother.

"I was never going. I wanted to stay here!" Haruhi nods.

There's a pause. Then Tamaki hugs Haruhi. "That's my wonderful daughter, doing daddy proud!"

The twins roll their eyes. "We're leaving," says Kaoru.

"This is getting boring!" Hikaru mutters in return.

"Yay, cake! With strawberries too!" Hunny bounces off, a dutiful Mori following.

Kyouya eyes light up behind his glasses, as new plans formulate in his active mind. With one final look at Tamaki and Haruhi, Kyouya smiles to himself "Customers await," Kyouya murmurs in Tamaki's ear. The blond boy nods, his cheeks heating up, his eye contact broken with Haruhi.

Haruhi starts and looks away from them both, the moment broken.


End file.
